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0662/North Curry GP

MBE for heroic North Curry doctor James Hickman

A HEROIC doctor who rescued a woman who fell 30ft from Wells Cathedraland was first on the scene of the November 2011 M5 crash tragedy has been awarded an MBE. Dr James Hickman, a GP in North Curry and pre-hospital emergency care doctor, was commended for his services to health care, particularly emergency medical care, in Somerset and abroad. As a member of the Somerset Accident Voluntary Emergency Service he has attended hundreds of incidents in support of the ambulance service, including rescuing a patient by amputating his arm high in the roof space of an industrial complex. Dr Hickman said he was “delighted” to receive his MBE, adding that it was “a great honour to be singled out”. He said: “It’s not just for the personal recognition, but also for the charities I work with and the work all our members do in the field of pre-hospital emergency care.” In addition to his 24/7 voluntary work as an emergency on-call doctor in the county, Dr Hickman is a member of the UK International Search and Rescue Team, and was deployed to the 2009 Sumatran earthquake, and the Japanese earthquake and tsunami in 2011. In October, 2013, he was elected chairman of the British Association for Immediate Care. He said: “There are so many deserving people out there – I’m touched that somebody, or some people, have thought to put my name forward. “I’m grateful to my colleagues in SAVES and BASICS, the doctors and staff in my practice, my patients for supporting my emergency work, and particularly my long-suffering wife and daughters for all their support in putting up with me disappearing on calls at a moment’s notice and going away for courses and meetings.”